Chiba man sold swimwear with fake idol autographs

Kazuya Takahashi sold bathing suits with forged signatures of NMB48 members

CHIBA (TR) – Chiba Prefectural Police on Tuesday arrested a 24-year-old male for the sale of clothing featuring fake autographs of members of a popular all-girl idol group, reports TV Asahi (Sep. 1).

Last November, Kazuya Takahashi, a resident of Inzai, sold bathing suits and short pants with forged signatures of members of the Osaka-based group NMB48 to two 59-year-old men on an auction site for a total of 210,000 yen.

Takahashi admits to the allegations, telling police that he wanted to earn money to purchase idol items and tickets for events in which he could meet members.

Police believe that the suspect collected a total of 2.7 million yen in approximately 180 cases in which similar methods were utilized.